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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24098110">I Need You to Accompany Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ezzideers/pseuds/Ezzideers'>Ezzideers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Versailles (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:28:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,638</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24098110</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ezzideers/pseuds/Ezzideers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Fabien decides to go on a secret mission in a village far away from Versailles. He cannot take any guards with him, as he suspects a spy under his employees. He still needs assistance on the trip and therefore he asks Sophie to accompany him instead.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fabien Marchal/Sophie de Clermont</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>After reading all of the fanfictions about Fabien and Sophie that I could find, I still did not have enough of this pairing. Therefore I decided to write a story on my own.</p><p>Note: Fabien is the King's Chief of Police and Sophie works under him as his spy. Sophie is a widow. Sophie and Fabien did not have any romantic relationship yet.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It has been a while since Sophie started working under Fabien as his spy. She managed to accomplish her spying tasks quite well, therefore Fabien had nothing to complain about. During their meetings Fabien remained calm and rather neutral. It is not like he had the time to praise her achievements. Fabien was the Chief of Police and therefore a busy man. He seemed to be keeping a cool head at all times, appearing not to have any weaknesses at all.</p><p>Fabien has been in his office, planning a mission in Marçay, a village a day away from Versailles. He needed to pay a visit to the relatives of Madame de Charpentier, a lady living at the court of Versailles. Fabien suspected Madame de Charpentier to be involved in a series of latest murders on Versailles’ inhabitants. As all of the incoming and outgoing post first goes through Fabien’s hands or the ones of his employees, Fabien noticed strange notes in letters from Marçay, which was Madame de Charpentier’s home village. Fabien decided to visit her relatives in Marçay by himself, hoping to find out more. That way he could investigate secretly, away from Versailles, without scaring Madame de Charpentier or her accomplices off. Fabien hoped to find proof of her being guilty or innocent.</p><p>He could not take guards with him on the mission, because he suspected that there was a spy under his employees. He could not risk that Madame de Charpentier or any other participant in the crimes got wind of Fabien’s investigations. Fabien had to hide his absence as much as possible, and this meant to either travel alone, or to travel with somebody, who does not have any publicly known connection with Fabien. Visiting relatives of Madame de Charpentier alone might be problematic, as he would have nobody to do the distracting part, while he would be inspecting the area.</p><p>Since nobody except the king knew about Sophie’s employment, Fabien took ordering her to accompany him in consideration. Sophie could simply tell the ladies at court that she is visiting her mother, as the court did not know about Beatrice’s death. There was only one problem – taking Sophie de Clermont, Duchess of Cassel, a widow, with him on the mission would mean that Sophie would travel with him alone. This could harm her reputation as an unmarried woman. If they would meet anyone with connections to Versailles on their way to Marçay, the court and the culprits would find out about Fabien’s absence and it would endanger the mission. This would be bad. But damaging the reputation of her spy would be even worse, as this would diminish Sophie’s influence on the court and therefore reduce her value as a spy. Fabien would have less insight in the events at court, which would complicate further investigations. Fabien had to think of a solution for this.</p><p>All of the sudden, Fabien heard someone knocking at the door. The visitor was politely waiting for an answer before going in.</p><p>“You may come in.” - Fabien stood up from his chair and took a few steps towards the door.</p><p>Sophie opened the door and entered Fabien’s office, closing the door quietly behind her. Fabien almost forgot they had planned a meeting for today, as he was busy thinking about the Marçay trip.</p><p>“Good morning, Mr. Marchal. I had a chat with Madame de Montespan, as you requested. It seems that she does not have any idea about who the killer might be. Or she is very good at lying and acting uninformed. I also did not find anything suspicious in her chambers today.” - Sophie reported, holding her hands in front of her.</p><p>Fabien was surprised by how fast Sophie accomplished the task he gave her just yesterday evening. It left him speechless for a second, and Fabien turned back to his desk to hide it. Sophie indeed got better with each task, she was a competent apprentice.</p><p>“Alright. I do not think she is involved then.” - Fabien answered calmly, without showing any appreciation. He turned himself back to Sophie and leaned on the wall beneath his desk.</p><p>“Do you have any other task for me for today?” - Sophie asked.</p><p>“No. You may go.” - Fabien answered.</p><p>“Alright.” - Sophie turned around and headed back to the door.</p><p>He almost let her touch the door handle, when he remembered about his former thoughts.</p><p>“Actually, wait.” - Fabien said. Sophie turned to him again and gave him a questioning look. He took a few steps towards the door to make sure it was indeed closed tightly.</p><p>“I need you to accompany me on a mission in <em>Marçay</em>.” - Fabien spoke to Sophie in a quiet voice.</p><p>“We will ride for one day, stay there for three or four days and then ride a day back. You will tell at court that you are visiting your mother. No one shall find out about this trip. You will support me by distracting people while I will be examining the area.” - Fabien continued.</p><p>Sophie wondered what Fabien hoped to find in Marçay, and where Marçay was at all. She had never heard of this place before. She did not want to act uneducated, therefore she did not ask about Marçay’s location and instead decided to ask what exactly they will do there and when they take off. And even more important, why he needed her with him over there. He easily could take some guards with him. They have experience and skills needed for such trips, which Sophie was lacking.</p><p>“Why do you need me with you on that trip?” - Sophie asked straightforward.</p><p>“I assume we have a spy among the guards. I do not want anybody involved in the latest crimes to find out where I am going to. As far as I know, nobody realized you are working for me yet.” - Fabien answered. “Thus I need <em>you</em> to accompany me.”</p><p>Sophie was pleased by the fact that Fabien trusted her enough to initiate her into his plan. She concluded that he must be satisfied with her work. This filled her with joy, as this job was one of the few things which gave her life a purpose. She has been quite lost since Duke of Cassel mistreated her. The feelings of helplessness, desperation and even self-loathing had destroyed her inside little by little. She felt better after becoming a widow, but she still did not fully recover, both physically and psychically. This job gave her something to hold on to, and Fabien asking her to come with him on a mission made her feel valuable and worthy.</p><p>“Alright, when do we start? What exactly will we be doing there?” - Sophie started asking questions, letting Fabien surprised about her curiosity. He realized the sudden turn in her mood. <em>Does she like trips that much? </em>- Fabien wondered.</p><p>“We leave the day after tomorrow at midnight. Take luggage for a week with you. I’ll tell you later this day where exactly we take off from and how you will get there. I’ll explain the remaining details during the trip, we do not have the time for this right now. I still need to make some arrangements until we leave.” - He briefed her.</p><p>“Alright. Then I will inform the court about my mother’s sudden illness today evening at the cards table and… well, act unsuspicious.” - Sophie told Fabien about her plans for the rest of the day, her voice was filled with joy.</p><p>After Sophie left, Fabien went off to made the necessary preparations for the mission. This included making up a story which would explain his absence during the coming week. Probably he will inform a couple of guards that he has an excessive amount of paperwork to complete and therefore does not want to be bothered with unimportant things until he is finished. Furthermore, he needed to inform the king about his real plan, so he headed to Louis’ office.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Sophie Marchal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Fabien informs Sophie about the details of their trip, which include Sophie playing his wife.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After a long and exhausting day at court, Sophie finally arrived in her chambers. As agreed upon in the morning at the meeting with Fabien, she informed the court about her mother being unexpectedly ill. She told the ladies at court that she needed to visit Beatrice in Pau immediately. She was preparing to go to sleep. Her maid helped her taking her dress off, and Sophie put on her nightgown. She was combing her hair and pondering about what she would take with her on the trip. It was early springtime, so it was rather cold outside. Hence she needed warm clothing with her.</p>
<p>She considered the trip to be a long-awaited change from her usual routine and thus she was looking forward to it. The days at court have been rather boring lately. Furthermore, this mission was one more possibility to show off her freshly gained skills as a spy to Fabien. As her current life was depending on him, making Fabien satisfied with her work would ensure her safety at court. Sophie was nervous, yet excited about the mission.</p>
<p>Suddenly, she heard the door to her chambers opening. She turned around and was surprised by her unexpected visitor being Mr. Marchal. She experienced a <em>déjà vu.</em> The last time that Fabien entered her room without prior warning did not leave pleasant memories behind. She wondered if hebrought any bad news to her this time as well.</p>
<p>“I really hope that you won’t command me to pack my belongings and leave the palace immediately this time?” - Sophie asked Fabien, giving her best not to appear anxious. Right now, all events of the last days went through her head. She was asking herself whether she disappointed him with something, or made a crucial mistake in any of her tasks.</p>
<p>“No, this time you’ve got the whole three hours to get ready.” - Fabien understood the allusion Sophie made about the day when Sophie’s mother has been sentenced to death and Fabien ordered Sophie to leave Versailles. In order to not scare her off unnecessarily, he explained her the cause of his late visit.</p>
<p>“Mademoiselle, I am sorry to disturb you at such a late hour. The plans have slightly changed. We need to leave in a couple of hours, in the middle of the night.” - Fabien continued.</p>
<p>“I understand, but… I have not even packed my bags yet! I need some more time.” - Sophie was concerned.</p>
<p>“Well, this is a problem I can help you with, Mademoiselle.” - Fabien answered, while taking a few steps towards her closet. That’s where Sophie kept her empty suitcases.</p>
<p>“I see, you still remember where my bags are being stored from the last time.” - Sophie commented his action.</p>
<p>Sophie’s tone revealed that she still has been slightly angry with Fabien about him almost kicking her out of the palace a while ago. She has a right to be mad at him, Fabien supposed. Despite of his tough job, he could have empathized with an eighteen-year-old, whose mother just had been executed, a bit more. Therefore he decided to ignore her perhaps incautious remark.</p>
<p>After bringing her suitcases down to the floor, Fabien informed her that they will meet three hours later at the southern entrance and left. Sophie informed a servant that she will need help to carry out her suitcases for her trip to Pau, visiting her ill mother. After that, she continued packing. Fortunately, she slept well last night. Hence she would tolerate traveling tonight well, Sophie thought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As agreed upon, Fabien has been waiting for Sophie at the southern entrance of the palace, in the middle of the night. He had arranged a small carriage with two horses. He saw a servant helping Sophie carrying her baggage outside. They stopped far enough from the carriage, so that the servant could not have seen that it was Fabien who was waiting at the carriage. After the servant left, Fabien put Sophie’s bags on the carriage and they sat down together on the seats at the front. They headed off, leaving Versailles back. Apart from short small talk, they did not talk much during the first hour. Fabien seemed concentrated to Sophie, therefore she decided not to disturb him. After a while, Fabien started a conversation by himself.</p>
<p>“It is possible that we meet somebody who is connected to Versailles on our trip. I am rather an unknown person. However, it is necessary to hide your identity since you are known as a noblewoman, the Duchess of Cassel. I’ve got you some fake papers to accomplish this.” - Fabien informed Sophie.</p>
<p>“I understand” - Sophie answered. “Who am I during this trip, then?” - She wondered.</p>
<p>“You are supposed to act as my wife, Madame Sophie Marchal.” - Fabien explained.</p>
<p>Sophie was expecting only a fake name or title, thus the fake marriage genuinely surprised her. Her heart even skipped a beat when Fabien pronounced <em>Madame Sophie Marchal</em>. However, the more she thought about it, the more logical this decision appeared. It was rather uncommon for an unmarried woman and an unmarried man to travel alone. Acting married would make them appear like regular citizens, she figured.</p>
<p>“Alright. So I need to act as a married woman.” - Sophie said.</p>
<p>Fabien was surprised by her simple reaction and fast approval, as he has expected questions.</p>
<p>“You should regard that I am a bit nervous about this. Don’t get me wrong, I am experienced at acting, but I have never played a married woman before, showing off my familiarity with a fake husband.” - Sophie supposed it was the right decision to talk to Fabien about her concerns honestly, as this might be crucial for the mission. “It’s not like I am not experienced in actually being … <em>married</em> though.” - She stressed the word <em>m</em><em>a</em><em>rried</em> with disgust in her voice, apparently remembering her marriage with Cassel.</p>
<p>“You do not have to worry. We will remain strictly professional. We will not put ourselves in the role of a married coupe more than it's necessary to convince the folks.” - Fabien calmed Sophie down. He noticed her feeling uncomfortable due to memories of her last marriage.</p>
<p>“Yet I agree that you do not have any experience at playing a married, non-noble woman.” - Fabien confirmed Sophie’s concerns. Even Fabien did not have similar experience, but Sophie was not supposed to know this. This would only increase her nervousness and that would be of no use for the mission.</p>
<p>“We will not arrive in Marçay today. Instead, we will make an intermediate stop in Canardière. It is a small village far enough from Marçay, therefore we can strongly assume it has no connections with Marçay’s inhabitants. There, we will make a test run. You will be able to practice acting as my wife, without fearing making a mistake. We will remain there for a day, and then continue our trip to Marçay.” - Fabien explained.</p>
<p>Sophie felt both relieved and thankful for the opportunity to practice and getting more familiar with the task. Yet she was nervous. She felt that the thought of playing Mr. Marchal’s wife made her cheeks blush, and she was glad that they were traveling at night. Sophie was not in love with him, but she nevertheless experienced a strange feeling in her stomach during that conversation. However, blushing cheeks might also increase the authenticity of her acting, so it was not necessarily a drawback, Sophie guessed.</p>
<p>“I guess that this is the cause for us to leave a day earlier?” - Sophie concluded.</p>
<p>“You figured it out” - Fabien confirmed.</p>
<p>The initial purpose of the stop in Canardière was to help Sophie feeling comfortable with her new role during the trip, as this was of importance for their mission. However, Fabien noticed him being nervous as well. He might be even more nervous than Sophie, as he had an additional task to accomplish: Not showing his nervousness to Sophie.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is my very-first fic! Therefore I am happy about each comment!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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